Suspect in bomb mailings is church-going body-builder who said he worked with strip clubs

People who know Cesar Sayoc said they were shocked he's suspected of mailing at least 14 explosive packages through the mail, targeting Democrats. Some describe the man as a church-goer, others as someone who worked with strip clubs.
USA TODAY

In this still image taken from a video courtesy of television station WPLG, a van is towed on October 26, 2018, in Plantation, Florida, in connection with the 12 pipe bombs and suspicious packages mailed to top Democrats.(Photo11: Jose Romero, AFP/Getty Images)

A Florida registered Republican with a history of financial problems, petty arrests and flamboyant political criticism mailed at least 14 explosive packages through the mail, targeting Democratic leaders and multimillionaires in a plot that struck a chord of fear throughout the nation, federal officials said in arrest records Friday.

Several people who know the suspect, Cesar Sayoc, 56, said they were shocked at the charges, although their descriptions paint a picture of a man who is hard to get a handle on: Sayoc attended the Little Flower Church in Fort Lauderdale, but he also told acquaintances he had a working relationship with male strip clubs in South Florida.

None of the explosive packages detonated and no one was injured in the mailings.

Sayoc told at least one neighbor he was a "flash dancer" at strip clubs and needed to keep his body in prime shape through weight training. But in court depositions, Sayoc is depicted as occasionally bankrupt and living with his mother.

“He was always cordial, courteous and professional,” said Daniel Lurvey, a Miami-Dade defense attorney who represented Sayoc in two theft cases in 2013 and 2014. “We talked a little bit about his work, and I remember him referring to an association with the Chippendale dancers."

The group is a nationally renowned touring troupe of male strippers, but Lurvey said he did not know exactly what Sayoc’s association was, and it remains unclear if Sayoc actually had any connection with the troupe.

Chippendales spokesman Michael Caprio on Friday said Sayoc “has never been affiliated in any way with Chippendales.”

In 2001, Chippendales sued – and won a judgment – to prevent Gold Productions Inc. from using the Chippendales name in their productions. Sayoc claims on his LinkedIn professional page to have been a promoter and booking agent for Gold Productions.

A former neighbor, Robert Blake, said he used to give Sayoc rides to the nearest health club where Sayoc, who appeared to enjoy bodybuilding, would work out most days.

He said Sayoc told him he made a living as a flash dancer and needed to work out to stay in shape. Blake, in an interview Friday with USA TODAY, said Sayoc lost his home to foreclosure during the nationwide real estate crash and disappeared from their suburban Fort Lauderdale neighborhood, a community of older single-family homes near Pompano Beach in Broward County.

Blake said Sayoc was unmarried and did not have any kids and lived next door to him for about three years.

He said he drove a Corvette and led a “quite un-ordinary lifestyle.” Sayoc describes himself on LinkedIn as a "Promoter, booking agent Live entertainment, owner, choreographer."

Sayoc was born in Brooklyn, New York. Records show he has a criminal history dating back nearly three decades, including a 2015 arrest in Broward County for petty theft and probation violation.

Federal authorities charged Sayoc with five federal crimes, including interstate transportation of an explosive, illegal mailing of an explosive and threats against former presidents.

Sayoc was arrested near an auto store in Plantation, Florida. Police examined a white van shrouded in stickers with political and anti-media messages.

Cops covered the vehicle with a blue tarp and took it away on the back of a flatbed truck. The stickers included images of President Donald Trump, American flags and what appeared to be logos of the Republican National Committee and CNN, though not all the images were clear.

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The head of the FBI says the suspect arrested in the mail bombs sent to prominent Democrats was found in part using fingerprint evidence and possible DNA. (Oct. 26)
AP

FBI Director Christopher Wray said a fingerprint recovered from an envelope mailed to U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters matched Sayoc's fingerprint.

Wray said investigators tracked more than a dozen devices mailed to high-profile Democrats and their supporters that all were similar. Each mailed device included 6 inches of PVC pipe, a small clock, battery, wiring and potentially explosive material designed to give out heat and energy.

"These are not hoax devices," Wray said.

Earlier Friday, Trump applauded the suspect's arrest, calling it "an incredible job" by law enforcement. The bombing attempts were "despicable" and have "no place in our country," Trump said during an event for African-American Republicans at the White House.

“We must never allow political violence to take root in America," Trump said, and "I’m committed to doing everything in my power to stop it."

The total number of bombs reached at least 14 Friday after more suspicious packages were recovered: one in Florida addressed to New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, another in New York addressed to former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, a device recovered at Sen. Kamala Harris’ office in Sacramento, California, and another package that was intercepted at a mail facility in Burlingame, California, addressed to billionaire Tom Steyer.

Harris’ office says it was informed that the package was identified at a Sacramento mail facility. The FBI responded to the facility in a South Sacramento neighborhood that’s been blocked off by caution tape.

A package addressed to Clapper was recovered at a Manhattan postal facility. Like some of the previous packages, the one found in New York City on Friday had the office of Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz as the return address, a photo obtained by CBS News showed.

The nation has been on heightened alert in the wake of the mail bombs sent to Trump critics, including the residences of former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

Records show that Sayoc has a history of arrests dating back to at least the early 1990s. He also had financial troubles, filing for personal bankruptcy in Florida in 2012 during the Great Recession.

In 2002, Sayoc was charged with threatening to “throw, project, place, or discharge any destructive device," according to online court records from Miami-Dade County.

More recently, Sayoc was arrested in May 2015 and later convicted of theft, according to court records. West Palm Beach Police reported that he stole a briefcase and a garment bag from Walmart.

Sayoc estimated his monthly income at $923 after payroll deductions and monthly expenses at $1,070. He collected unemployment compensation in 2009, 2010 and 2012, according to the bankruptcy filing.

Court records indicate that Sayoc used to work at Stir Crazy, a small strip club tucked between a beauty salon, a real estate office and a public park off U.S. 1 in Pinecrest, a suburb south of Miami.

The club was hosting a Halloween party Friday afternoon. One of the bartenders said Sayoc used to work there several years ago, but she declined to comment further.

Attempts to reach the club’s manager and owner were unsuccessful Friday.

The suspicious package intended for Clapper was spotted by a postal worker at the Radio City Station facility at around 8:15 a.m. The employee contacted U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and they contacted the NYPD and FBI.

NYPD Bomb Squad officers scanned the package and saw what appeared to be a pipe bomb, NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller said at a Manhattan news conference.

The bomb squad relocated the package in its total containment vessel to the NYPD facility at Rodman's Neck in the Bronx. After being secured there, the package will be sent to the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis, Miller said.

The device addressed to Booker was recovered at a mail sorting distribution center in Opa Locka, Florida, which has drawn intense investigative interest in recent days, as authorities believe that many of the suspected explosive devices passed through the state, a law enforcement official said.

Investigators were reviewing mail streams in and out of Florida, attempting to pinpoint locations where the parcels may have originated, said the official who is not authorized to comment publicly.

In New York, police have investigated multiple unattended packages in recent days and are urging the public to report anything that could be deemed dangerous.

The powder found in packaging in New York addressed to CNN's offices wasn’t a biological weapon, but further testing was being done, O’Neill said. The devices were examined at the FBI lab in Virginia.

FBI Assistant Director Bill Sweeney on Thursday said the investigation is nationwide and noted that more devices could be discovered. “It does remain possible that further packages have been or could be mailed," he said. "These devices should be considered dangerous.”

Wray echoed those sentiments Friday. "Today's arrest doesn't mean we are out of the woods."

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Following these tips from the Department of Homeland Security can help you detect suspicious materials sent to you in the mail.
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